Clarkson 3, @CORNELL 1 … Box Score | Game Recap | Video Highlights
@CORNELL 6, St. Lawrence 0 … Box Score | Game Recap | Video Highlights
The weekend was magical. All the returning alumni, hearing their stories and seeing people that I hadn’t seen for decades was the highlight of the weekend. Being honored on Saturday was fantastic.
Friday’s game was disappointing. I talked with the guys after the game, and said the bottom line is winning. I liked our process both nights. We limited shots and created chances. We were disciplined and had good opportunities, but you must get the puck into the back of the net more than they do! Saturday, we played a very similar game, but we capitalized. Against Clarkson, we didn’t play like champions. We made two costly defensive mistakes that tarnished what was a relatively sound defensive night. We did a lot of good things, but you don’t get three points on good things, you only earn three points when you win.
In the first period, we had a number of quality chances but didn’t score, and we played well on our nationally ranked penalty kill. We out shot them, 6-4, in the opening 20 minutes.
At 5:35 in the second period, we made a mistake on a line change and Clarkson scored on a 2-on-1 break. Twelve minutes later a strong breakout resulted in a 2-on-1 break for us. Senior forward Sullivan Mack took a pass from senior forward Kyler Kovich, and Sullivan put a wrist shot past the Clarkson goaltender to tie the game, 1-1. The game remained tied at the end of the second period. We led 10-3 in shots on goal.
With about five minutes remaining in the game, we let one of the best players in the league get behind us, and he eventually poked the puck “five-hole” past senior goaltender Ian Shane to break the tie, 2-1. Clarkson scored an empty-net goal at 19:29 to secure their win. Two monumental mistakes cost us the first two goals. All the other stuff was just extracurricular.
Shane made eight saves for us, and their goaltender stopped 24 shots. We were 0-for-3 on the power play, and they were 0-for-2.
The next night against St. Lawrence, we recognized our ten seniors, and I coached my last regular-season game behind the bench. The crowd was tremendous, and I thought we came out and played well the whole game. The team wasn’t happy with the Clarkson result, and we didn’t make those mistakes two nights in a row.
We scored at 13:12 and 13:41 of the first period. Senior forward Jack O’Leary took a great pass from behind the net by first year forward Charlie Major and backhanded the puck past the goaltender for the first goal. Junior forward Dalton Bancroft fired a shot over the goaltender for second. The Big Red led 2-0 at the end of the period.
In the second period, a St. Lawrence player received a 5-minute penalty and a game misconduct for contact to the head of our player. While we failed to score on the power-play, less than a minute after the penalty expired, Bancroft fired a shot that the goalie couldn’t control, and Sullivan Mack was in the right spot to tap in the puck for a 3-0 lead.
We scored a power-play goal just 44 seconds after Mack’s goal. Bancroft fired a one-timer that deflected off a St. Lawrence skate. We took the 4-0 lead into the final period. At 17:04, Senior defenseman Hank Kempf scored with assists given to O’Leary and Major. At 1:35 of the third, Bancroft scored his third goal for a hat trick, taking a pass from senior Jimmy Rayhill. The point was Rayhill’s first collegiate point and was so fitting, given Jimmy’s commitment to the program during his four years. Bancroft was named ECAC Forward of the Week.
Shane made 13 saves recording his 13th career shutout, which tied Ken Dryden ’69 for the fourth-most career shutouts by a Cornell goaltender. The St. Lawrence goalie stopped 25 shots. We were 1-for-5 on the power play, and they were 0-for-1.
We finish the regular season on the road at Union on Friday night, and RPI on Saturday. With a 9-7-4 record in the ECAC, we are tied for fifth place with Dartmouth with 33 points. Union and Colgate are tied for third with 37 points each. We have clinched at least home ice for one more game if we finish in the middle of the standings. Our goal is a top 4 finish, a first weekend bye, and quarterfinals played at Lynah Rink. A lot must happen for this goal, but that’s why we play the game. Standings won’t be final until the last regular season game is played!
Thank you for your terrific support all season and I know we will see many of you this weekend in the Capital District and for playoffs.